Vienna doctor's arrest creates questions for pain patients

UPDATE: 9/24/2019

People who were patients of a Vienna doctor charged with illegally distributing pain medications, are wondering who to turn to next for the treatment they had received locally.

Parkersburg Police Chief Joseph Martin attended Tuesday's news conference in which the charges against the local physician and others in West Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee were announced.

Martin says the doctor charged is not representative of the majority of physicians in our area.

"The good doctors outweigh the bad, for sure," Martin said. "And I think, in our community, we have predominantly good doctors, that aren't distributing narcotics, and/or synthetic drugs, in a way they shouldn't be."

He says there are legitimate pain clinics, and pain patients need to seek them out.

The chief notes that fentanyl, often prescribed for pain, is actually a treatment for cancer patients.

ORIGINAL STORY: 9/24/2019

A Mid-Ohio Valley doctor has been indicted on a federal charge of distributing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose.

The charges against Dr. Michael Shramowiat, 66, of Vienna, were announced during a news conference in Charleston.

Shramowiat was indicted earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Charleston. The nine-count indictment was announced at a news conference on Tuesday.

During that news conference, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Brian Benczkowski also said a 35-year-old patient from Parkersburg who received prescriptions for fentanyl died from an overdose after filling a prescription from his doctor.

Shramowiat has not been charged in that person's death.

He was arrested Tuesday and is being held pending a trial, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charleston.

Shramowiat was affiliated with the Mountaineer Pain Relief Rehabilitation Center, located at 1158 46th St., Vienna.

According to the indictment, he prescribed an excessive amount of fentanyl to a patient who was not identified between May 2015 and January 2016.

Court records allege that between May 2017 and May 2019 Shramowiat, who had 1,600 patients, prescribed 1.8 million units of Schedule II controlled substances.

During that time, the court records also allege that he wrote about 25,000 prescriptions for controlled substances and that more than 19,000 of those were for opioid pain medications such as fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone or other similar medications.

The court records also allege that at least one former patient claimed to have received hydrocodone prescriptions without having to undergo a medical exam.

Federal authorities seized gold coins; numerous firearms and ammunition; and nearly $5,000 while searching the clinic in July. The business’ property and nearly $145,000 in one of the clinic’s bank accounts is also subject to forfeiture, authorities said.

The charges against Shramowiat are part of a broader federal investigation announced on Tuesday that includes charges against 12 other people in West Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee.

“The charges announced today aggressively prosecute medical professionals whose alleged prescribing behaviors have contributed to the opioid epidemic, particularly medical professionals who are involved in the unlawful distribution of ovoids and other prescription narcotics,” the U.S. Justice Department said in a news release.

According to the CDC, approximately 115 Americans die every day of an opioid-related overdose.

“The Department of Justice will not relent in its aggressive pursuit of those responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic in Appalachia,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Bangkok of the U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Medical professionals who violate their solemn oaths and peddle opoids for profit should know that we will find you and ensure that the justice system treats you like the drug dealer you are.”

The investigation also resulted in charges against three other people in West Virginia. They include:

- Dr. Ricky Huddled, 67, of Ona, who was charged with allegedly unlawfully distributing controlled substance without a legitimate medical purpose.

- Dr. Seraglio Kari, 77, of Charleston, who was charged with allegedly unlawfully distributing controlled substance without a legitimate medical purpose.

- Julie Wheeler, 43, of Oak Hill, the owner and operator of JR Home care Support Services, who was charged with health-care fraud.

You can read the indictment by clicking on the related link to the right of this article.